Bluff Dale Vineyards

The Winery at Bluff Dale Vineyards The Grapes around Texas ©2012 Half of every adventure is getting to your destination and our trip this year was no exception. We decided to take a different route to the Hill Country this time around to check out some places we have not had the time to see … Continue reading »

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2012/06/02/bluff-dale-vineyards/

wine online online wine

Rockin? at Wine & Cars

Everyone had a great time at Wine & Cars Under the Stars last weekend. Don’t believe me? Check out the video: The evening was a great success, netting nearly $50,000 for the foundations at Fairplex and their programs. If you missed Wine & Cars, you can taste the award-winning wines of the Los Angeles International [...]

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=100

wine aerator chocolate wine wine accessories buying wine wine brands

?Lafite is out, Conti is in.?

China pivots to Burgundy. Source: Theatlantic Via: The Atlantic Thankfully, the wine market’s sour turn could also just be a sign of changing tastes. Eighty-six of the 100 bottles Liv-ex tracks are Bordeaux, the traditional king of fine wine. But as the Financial Times wrote in May, recent auctions suggest that Hong Kong buyers, perhaps [...]

“Lafite is out, Conti is in.” originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/fUtBR47grfE/

syrah pinot noir moscato wine cooler merlot

OTBN 13: A Night of Regret & Discovery

Although I was an avid and longtime reader of Dottie Gaiter and John Brecher’s weekly Wall Street Journal wine column, I never have participated in Open That Bottle Night (OTBN). Started in 2000, the event was created as an excuse to open a special wine that remains for whatever reason languishing in your cellar. I [...]

OTBN 13: A Night of Regret & Discovery originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/FUsu7Y9Hwbo/

zinfandel rose pinot grigio chianti red

2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir: QPR Alert?

When Wine Spectator dropped a 93 point rating on the 2010 Calera Central Pinot Noir it was a second validation that this bottling has become one to be reckoned with in the California Pinot Noir value spectrum.

The 2009 vintage was rated 92 points by the Wine Advocate, and combined with its modest $24 release price and relatively high production levels (around 10,000 cases) the wine seems destined to join the likes of Siduri and Loring as perennial Pinot value plays.

I was just browsing through the Wine Spectator rating database and man...I had a hard time finding a 93 point California Pinot Noir for $25 or less. I had to go back into the early '90s to a time when Pinot was in its infancy in California and producers were just getting started with the grape to find a Pinot this affordable and highly rated.

But when you're buying by the numbers you're hanging your hopes on one person's palate. In the case of Wine Spectator that's James Laube who has a reputation with some for preferring ripe wines - and he states as much in his tasting notes for the wine: "very ripe but still complex". [Spectator online subscription required]

If we consult the wisdom of the masses we currently see a Cellar Tracker community rating for the 2009 at 89.1 and the 2010 is currently averaging 90.3.

If we run these metrics through the WWP QPR Calculator (what's that?) we get a 2.5: A Very Good value.

The wine is also referred to as the 35th Anniversary Vintage - and there's some confusion and duplicate entries on Cellar Tracker for sure. But there's no special bottling to seek out. If you're buying the 2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir you're getting the wine that Spectator rated 93 points. Here are my thoughts on the wine:

2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir [35th Anniversary Vintage]
$24 Release Price
14.9% Alcohol
7,688 Cases Produced

Primary [very] ripe plum notes mug the otherwise nice Pinot characteristics lurking in the background. 14.9% alcohol (up from 14.2% in 2009) and it shows. The wine clings heavily to the glass and there's heat at the backend of every sip. An instantaneous aerator the first night and an evening of rest under stopper didn't help accelerate the aging process. Will this be better with time? I wouldn't count on it. But for $24 retail it's a decent wine I guess. I just can't see my way to 92 or 93 points.

88/100 WWP: Very Good

Where to Buy


In Massachusetts:
Elsewhere: Search on Wine-Searcher.com in your state

Question of the Day: Have you had this wine? If so, what did you think?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/N9t4QEe48Ks/2010-calera-central-coast-pinot-noir.html

wine and spirits cabernet sauvignon wine racks best wine wine bottles

Happy 4th of July!

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation, approved the Declaration of Independence. As always, this most American of holidays will be marked by parades, fireworks, and backyard barbecues across the country. We wish you all a very happy 4th of July [...]

Happy 4th of July! was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/SPDnKjyi_6Y/

wine clubs buy wine good wine wine warehouse wine company